Absorbent protective pad



DQC. 9, KAY ABSORBENT PROTECTIVE PAD I Filed Nov. 5, 1947 20 v I l7 INVENTOR.

aym h AZ'JOEATY LEAH A. KAY

] "UNITED I STAT Patented Dec. 9, 1952 i. i

Es PATENT OFFICE ABsonBE N'r rno'reoriveran A I Leah A. Kay, Amarillo, Tex. Application November 5, 1947, Serial No. 784,188

" 7 Claims. (01. -454) TI'hlsdnvention relates to new anduseiul improvements in absorbent protective articles.

.It is amore or less common practice, in the care of infants or invalids, to use a sheet of rubber or other water-impervious material and thrown away and a new pad provided. Furthermore, if the pad is used on a bed under the infant or invalid for protecting the bedding, the pad and the rubber sheet both become wrinkled or displaced in many cases, and frequently the two elements become entirely separated so as I to defeat thepurpose for which they are used.

It 'is, therefore, one object of this invention to provide an improved unitary.absorbent protective article particularly adapted for use for the protection of bedding, or the protection of the clothing of the user when handling infants I absorbent material, whereby moisture may pass through the non-absorbent foraminous or mesh envelope to the absorbent pad and be absorbed therein and the moisture-impervious material will prevent the moisture from passing from the absorbent pad to the bedding or clothing.

Another object of the invention is to provide 'an article of the character described which is 7 provided with integral means for securing the articlein a substantially stationary position on a bed or to the person of the wearer.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved absorbent protective article of the character described wherein the non-absorbent foraminous or mesh material envelope ncloses and supports a sheet of moisture-proof or moisture-impervious material, such as rubber, and a body of disposable absorbent material, whereby whenthe absorbent material has served its purpose it may be removed from the envelope and completely disposed of and the envelope of non-absorbent foraminous or mesh material andthe rubber sheet may be sponged I or rinsed off 'and 'wiped. dry anda dryabsorbent 2 pad inserted in the envelope, whereupon article is again ready for use.

Still another object of the invention is to provide, in an absorbent protective article of th the character described, an absorbent pad of disposable absorbent material, such as paper toweling or the like, this eliminating the necessity of washing and drying the article afterits use.

Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be readily apparent from thereading of the following description of a device constructed in accordance with the invention, and

reference to the accompanyingdrawings thereof, wherein:

Figure l isa plan view'of an absorbent protective article constructed in accordance with the invention,

Figure 2 is a longitudinal, vertical sectional view of the article, taken on the line 22 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary, sectional view, taken on the line 33 of Figure 1, and showing the open end of the envelope, and

Figure 4 is a view in elevation of a protective article constructed in accordance with the invention and provided with shoulder straps whereby it may be worn as an apron.

In the drawings, the numeral lil designates a substantially rectangular envelope made of mesh nylon or other foraminous non-absorbent material, said envelope including an upper outer sheet I I and a lower outer sheet l2 of the foraminous or mesh material sewn together along three marginal edges as indicated at l3, whereby the envelope forms a receptacle having an open end I4. The edges of the upper and lower outer sheets are turned under and separately hemmed at the opening I 4 to strengthen the same. It is preferable that loops 15 of cloth tape material be sewn between the two sheets of foraminous mesh material at equally spaced points on opposite sides of the envelope, as clearly shown in Figures 1 and 2, whereby the envelope may be secured in a relatively stationary position on a bed or other object, or may be secured to the person of the user, for a purpose which will be hereinafter described.

A flat rectangular sheet I! of rubber or other water-impervious material, slightly smaller in size than the envelope, is inserted through the open end I l of the envelope between the lower and upper sheets. A pad I 8 of absorbent material, such as toweling, Or a quilted absorbent sheet, or a disposable absorbent material such as pap'er toweling, paper diaper materiaterthe like, is inserted into the open end l4 of the envelope between the upper outer sheet of mesh material II and the moisture-impervious or rubber sheet H, as clearly shown in Figure 2. Manifestly, the absorbent material may be positioned between the rubber sheet and either the upper or lower outer sheets of mesh material, or between the rubber sheet and both the upper and lower outer sheets of mesh material, so that either side of the article may be used as an absorbent and protective means.

In use, the envelope l0, having the rubber sheet I! and absorbent material I8 positioned therein, is placed on the bed, or is secured'to the'body of the wearer, with the rubber sheet on the inner side and the absorbent material on the outer side. Then, if water or other fluid ialls'on the envelope it will pass through the non-absorbent mesh material of the envelope and be absorbed by the absorbent material IS. *The rubber sheet I! prevents the moisture from passing through the pad of absorbent material to the bed therebelow, or to the clothin of the wearer. When the absorbent material has become-moistened in use, it may be removed from the envelope HI and washed and sterilized, if the absorbent material is toweling or other reusable envelope between the rubber sheet IT" and the- 'upper outer sheet of mesh material I! of the envelope, whereupon the article is again ready for use. 7

Manifestly', it is not necessary to thoroughly wash the envelope H] and wait for it to dry, since I the foraminous or mesh material of which the envelope is made is a non-absorbent material,

such as nylonor the like, which does not-absorb water and may be sponged and wiped dry with a cloth or shaken dry so as to be ready for immediate use. Thus, a disposable absorbent material, such as paper toweling or the like, may be used in the envelope to absorb moisture, and may be disposed of after use and becoming dampened, while the envelope and rubber sheet need only be sponged or rinsed clean and shaken or wiped dry to be again ready for use.

If desired, the lower sheet of the envelope may be formed of a sheet or rubber or other moistureimpervious material, and the'upper sheet of non-absorbent or moisture-impervious foraminous or mesh material may be secured to such moisture-impervious imperforate lower sheet to 7 form the envelope, and the absorbent material may then simply be inserted in the envelope between the rubber inner sheet of the envelope and the foraminous or mesh upper sheet thereof. Otherwise, the use of this form of the article is the same as that already described, except that the envelope is not reversible. The imperforate inner sheet may be of plastic or other pliable moisture-impervious material, if desired, and the foraminous outer sheet may also be of plastic or other pliable moisture-impervious material.

I Obviously, the imperforate moisture-impervious sheet may be sewn or otherwise secured at its marginal edges between the 'two outer foraminous sheets of the envelope l so as to be nonremovable.

separate pockets for receiving absorbent material,

Such a construction provides two cured or sewn in place in the envelope, reduces the wrinkling and deformation of the envelope when the same is rinsed or sponged clean and wiped or shaken dry.

The envelope may take any desired size and shape; and may have any desired means for securingor attaching it to the bed Or to the person of the user.

The loops of tape material 15 may be of cloth or any other suitable washable material and are provided for tying the :envelope in --place onthe bed, whereby the infant or invalid uhder'whom it is used will not be able to'readily displace or wrinkle thesa'me to impair itseffectivenessy The loops mayalso' be used to receive a' belt 'strap '(not'shown) by means ofwh'ich the envelope maybe secured to the waist of the user holding J an infant in his lap,- whereby theenvelope is maintained in place for use.

In Figure 4',- the envelope is shown ashaving elongate shoulder straps 20 sewn 'or otherwise I attached to it at its two upper corners, and short 5 tie strings 21' sewn or' otherwise attached to it intermediate' its ends and adapted to be tied to the shoulder straps 20 to secure the envelope 1B in position'o'nthe person of the user. Manifestly, while the envelope is shown'as rectangular in shape, it may be of'any other desired configura tion. -Also, means other than the *straps may be employed for securing the'article to the person of the' u'ser.

From the foregoing, it will'be seen that an absorbent protective article has been provided which includes an envelope made of mesh'nylon or other foraminous non-absorbent material,

which is open at one end and which encloses a sheet of water-imperviousmaterial, such as rubber or the like, and a pad or mass of absorbent material, such as toweling, or disposable absorbent filler material, which may be removed from the envelope and washed or thrown away when used and dampened. It is readily apparent that the non-absorbent foraminous or mesh material of the envelope permits moisture to pass through the foraminous material to the absorbent pad into which it is absorbed, and that the rubber sheet prevents passage of the moisture from the pad to the beddin or clothing of the'wearer or user.

It will further be seen that the non-absorbent foramincus or mesh material of the envelope permits the envelope to be rinsed or sponged clean and shaken or wiped dry, whereupon it is again ready for immediate use upon replacement of the absorbent pad, thus eliminating the washing and long period of drying which would otherwise be necessary. Furthermore, since the two sheets forming the envelope are each preferably of non-absorbent or moisture-impervious foraminous or mesh material, it is readilyv apparent that the article is reversible, and that masses of absorbent material may be inserted between the rubber sheet in the envelope and each sheet of mesh -material, whereby either side of the article may" beused as a protective and absorbent means. Also, the imperforate moisture-impervious sheet may be sewn or otherwise positively secured at its marginal edges between the two sheets of foraminous material, so as to be positively held in place in the envelope.

It will further be noted that the article may take any desired shape and may be fastened to the bedding or the person of the wearer in any desired suitable manner.

The foregoing description of the invention is explanatory only, and changes in the details of the construction illustrated may be made by those skilled in the art, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An absorbent protective article including, a pair of coextensive marginally contiguous sheets of water-impervious foraminous material fixedly joined together along a major part of their contiguous coextensive marginal edges and having an entrant opening formed by the unjoined marginal portion, a sheet of imperiorate moisture-impervious material removably disposed between the two sheets of foraminous material, and. a separately removable mass of absorbent material between one sheet of foraminous material and the moisture-impervious sheet.

2. An absorbent protective article of the character set forth in claim 1 wherein, the sheet of -foraminous material adjacent the mass of absorbent material is nylon mesh material.

3. An absorbent protective article of the character set forth in claim 1 wherein, the mass of absorbent material is disposable non-reusable material.

4. An absorbent protective article including, an envelope formed of two sheets of material fixedly join-ed along their marginal edges and having an opening along one edge, at least one sheet of the envelope being formed of moistureimpervious foraminous material, the other of said sheets being formed of an imperf-orate moisture-impervious material, and a mass of absorbent material removably disposed within the envelope.

5. An absorbent protective article including, an envelope formed of two sheets of nylon mesh material fixedly joined together along their marginal edges and having an unjoined marginal opening, a sheet of rubber removably disposed Within the envelope and substantially coextensive therewith, and a separately removable mass of disposable absorbent material between the rubber sheet and one sheet of mesh material.

6. An absorbent protective article of the character set forth in claim 5 wherein, a second mass of separately removable absorbent material is disposed between the rubber sheet and the other sheet of mesh material.

7. An envelope, for an absorbent protective article, formed of two sheets of moisture-impervious foraminous material fixedly joined together along their marginal edges and having an unjoined marginal opening, and an imperforate moisture-impervious sheet coextensive with and disposed between said foraminous sheets, said imperforate sheet being fixedly secured along its marginal edges to the fixedly joined edges of said foraminous sheets to form two separate pockets in the envelope each communicating with the unjoined marginal opening of said envelope, said imperforate sheet being held against wrinkling or displacement from its position in the envelope.

LEAH A. KAY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 194,831 Lirette Sept. 4, 1877 797,434 Homeyer Aug. 15, 1905 819,903 Maussner May 8, 1906 1,061,259 Blofield et a1 May 13, 1913 1,583,334 Bloom May 14, 1926 2,355,635 Dubilier Aug. 15, 1944 2,371,390 Grave Mar. 13, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 6,472 Great Britain Mar. 15, 1913 

